Writtle News

Student wins boxing gold!

February 2018

(NOTE: This is an archived press release.)

Writtle University College student Sheena Nobili has won boxing gold in the top sports competition involving UK universities and colleges.

The annual British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Boxing Championships took place in Stoke-on-Trent over three days and saw Sheena Nobili claim Female U60kg BUCS Boxing Champion! It is the first ever gold medal for WUC in the championships!

Sheena is currently studying BSc (Hons) Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, works in the University College’s gym and as a Student Ambassador promoting our courses to potential students.

The 26-year-old, originally from Italy, has only been boxing since October 2016 and had her first charity fight in December that year.

She said: “Winning a gold medal and being a national champion in a relative short time proved to me how much dedication and hard work pay off.

“Being able to participate in the Boxing Championship representing WUC was a fantastic opportunity. The three days were very intense and full of emotions, but the event ran smoothly and in a positive environment. All the competitors were professionally checked every day and the staff were very helpful.

“These kinds of events give students the opportunity to get more involved with other universities and try new experiences. I am very happy to have had this opportunity, and, having taken home a gold medal, I hope I can inspire and motivate other students to do the same in future years and raise WUC’s sporting reputation.”

Sheena trains twice a day for most of the week, balancing her university work, and finds it helps to not only keep herself fit but also focused, motivated and organised.

She said: “Like any other sports, especially when competing, boxing is not all about physical state. What I probably love about boxing, other than the incredible fitness level athletes have to maintain, is the mind-set boxers need to have. Especially for me, being a foreign student, boxing helped me a lot with self-confidence and determination, which are positive attributes that competitors have to bring in the ring, round after round.”

Amy Grimsey, Sport Development Officer at WUC, congratulated Sheena: “This was a fantastic performance and we are very pleased that Sheena was named champion and WUC won its first gold medal. We are looking forward to developing sport further at the University College.”